The Government of the Northwest Territories, particularly Environment and Natural Resources, is an excellent workplace that provides a variety of learning opportunities and friendly groups of people to consult with.

Was an enjoyable work environment with many opportunities to educate and learn.Fast paced customer service, Hardest part of the job was unruly clients not having proper paperwork. But being able to solve their problems with a smile was enjoyable.

I would go into work by 7 am and attend morning meetings with the crew who is on shift and night shift. We would then get the patients dressed and feed them breakfast and lunch. I would then attend to the daily chores, and then do the afternoon activities with the patients. My co workers were extremely supportive and helpful in helping me fulfill daily tasks. I most enjoyed doing the social activities.

Practical Nurse in the NWT working in a nursing home in Fort Smith. This little community is beautiful. The NWT government pays great and have excellent benefits and incentives. Locum work can be anything as short as 6 weeks and you can stay as long as you can. Permanent placements even give the option to bank 20% of your pay each week and after 4 years you can take an entire year off - paid!! Just one of the many perks that make NWT one of Canada's top employers.

As with anywhere, you will find people both easy and hard to get along with. However, if your only reason for working north is money, you may have a hard time getting along with your co-workers, as many hate southerners coming north only to "win the lottery," then leave as soon as their bank account is full. If you take time to know your co-workers, residents, patients, neighbours, cashiers, etc., you will find it more rewarding. An adventurous spirit goes a long way.

As for the weather - it's actually beautiful this far south while still north. It's right on the Alberta and NWT border so you're surrounded by trees rather than rocks and January and February are the only months that become extremely cold, though it's a dry cold.

Oh, and northern lights on almost any night without clouds!

Pros

Seeing Canada's great white north, good people, excellent work environment

My time with Health services and Health records is where I learned my skills as a office admin. I worked front line positions as well as behind the scenes. I always had a good rapport with staff as well as knowing how to deal with the public. I learned that doing a good job the first time and accuracy with my filing is very important in the health field. We were often commended for our accurate filing.

The geography and scenery are spectacular and the salary and benefits are amazing. This is all used up though, paying utilities and buying decent groceries. Thankfully the people Up Here are kind and generous and more than willing to share and help out.

A typical day was busy and exciting. There were challenges and issues to deal with. All of the department directors had their own mandate and or agendas for the short and long term periods. I managed to obtain copies of every mandate and I studied them so I was prepared when it was time to act.I was a part of the Financial - Administrative section of the GNWT working with two departments. My co-workers were mostly the financial officers, however I did have a purchasing officer who reported directly to me. Every job has its difficult areas, and to be successful one has to overcome the diversity of issues that arise and still keep within the Governments Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines.The most enjoyable part of my position was the win win situation. Everything was done in a transparent, concise and accountable fashion.

Pros

Learning as much as I could over the years. Being respected by my piers and by my vendors

Work load varied on a day to day basis; some days you just take initiative and create projects to keep busy, other days, you may have numerous letters to edit/format. Every day, you used the mail log system to log in or log out mail.

I've been with the same department for 10 years and all my coworkers were great to work with.

The hardest part of the job was probably training a new Admin Assistant.

The most enjoyable part was the great staff and covering off for more than one Administrative Assistant at a time; sometimes, I was covering for 3 Administrative positions anywhere from 1 day to 1 week or more.

Pros

receiving 187.5 hours of annual days per year, government shutting down for 2 weeks at christmas time, and great pay!

Cons

the huge project of converting the government wide filing system, difficult to wrap our heads around it